If you ever doubted if medieval life was hell on earth  even for the
richest and best-educated  have a look at these "Rules of Courtly
Love."

20.

A man in love is always apprehensive.

21.

Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love.

22.

Jealousy, and therefore love, are increased when one suspects his beloved.

23.

He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little.

A couple of seasons of that
routine, and heading out on Crusade to be shot to pieces by Saracens
would sound really attractive.

05.14.02

Some of these period pics of courtly love look rather sweet and fun, except for
the numerous ones where guys are getting stabbed or hacked to death. A
personal favorite is the one where the beloved rains kisses on the hero's
brow as his favorite trained hawk eats raw gobbets of meat right out of
his hand.

This site for "Resources for Love and Spirituality, Medieval Visions East and
West" makes it clear that, in the old days, everybody was bonkers. And
we remain so. "It is not sexuality which haunts society, but
society which haunts the body's sexuality" (Maurice
Godelier)

Bruce Sterling, il texano caliente, may wax romantic in this week's Schism
Matrix, but he had some harsh words for the feudal lords of Redmond at a
conference in Milan last week. Read about it in
La Repubblica. Non parla Italiano? Maybe Babel Fish can help you

And donít miss Bruceís A Very American Movie, which deconstructs Star Wars and "the American military-entertainment complex," on the New York Timesís op-ed page for May 15.